For the past three months, thousands of Alabama residents have joined Read Freely Alabama to work tirelessly to ensure that two bills that would have had devastating effects on libraries, HB4 and SB6, did not pass. Today as we look back on the close of this legislative session, we are proud to see that those efforts paid off. 

Our devoted and beleaguered librarians will not have to worry about being handcuffed and jailed for refusing to censor books under House Bill 4, the “Jail the Librarians bill,” which never made it out of its House Committee. Furthermore, the bill, which would have politicized our library boards even more (SB 6), once again died before making it to the Senate floor. 

We are thankful that more reasonable heads prevailed against hatred and fear in the legislature, and for the Alabama lawmakers who resisted this unconstitutional censorship and extremism. We send our gratitude, our appreciation, and our support to those lawmakers who heard the reasonable majority and decided against government overreach into our personal reading choices.

We know that the fight isn’t over. As we speak, a stacked and extreme Alabama Public Library Service board continues its assault on libraries, stripping funding from those who will not cave to their demands. And even today, as this session closes, opposing forces are already crafting legislation for a chosen representative to prefile, and are regrouping to continue their assault on our freedoms and beloved public institutions at the next legislative session. 

But we have seen over and over again that the majority of Alabamians are with us, and we will not let our home, a state whose motto is “We dare defend our rights,” be taken over by those who stir up fear and hate in order to convince citizens to hand over their rights and their freedoms. We will not allow the rights of marginalized communities to be trampled at the demands of hate groups. And we will not stand by as librarians are terrorized. 

We are mothers, fathers, grandparents; teachers, and clergy; we are straight, gay, Republican, Democrat and Independent- we are Alabama, a diverse state that values freedom for all of us, and we dare defend our right to read freely.

Senate Bill 6 (SB6), introduced by Senator Chris Elliott (R-Josephine), aims to significantly change the governance of public libraries in Alabama. If passed, SB6 would give local city and county governments the authority to remove library board members at will via a two-thirds vote. It would also eliminate staggered terms for board members and require boards to report their membership and activities related to collection review to state leadership.

A new bill has been introduced in the Alabama legislature that proposes significant changes to the criminal code regarding the operation of public and school libraries. Known as HB4, this legislation will alter the landscape of librarianship and public access to information. This post aims to break down the key elements of the bill and explain its potential negative impacts on our community libraries and the right to read across Alabama.

Read Freely Alabama supports the library staff of the Autauga Prattville Public Library after the APPL board fired Director Andrew Foster for “sharing confidential information in violation of criminal law” after fulfilling a public records request for a local reporter. We also stand with the four library staff members who were fired after they shut down the library until Mr. Foster was reinstated. 

The Public Comment Period concerning the APLS Administrative Code Changes Begins Today, February 1, 2024.